Welcome to the Stevens Point Eco-Municipality Website.
The ground work is laid!!! On June 16th, 2008, Stevens Point City Council unanimously voted to designate Stevens Point as an Eco-Municipality. It takes a combined community and government effort to move this resolution from theory to practice.
Back in June 2007, Stevens Point Mayor Halverson formed the Stevens Point Eco-Municipality Task Force, with the goal to develop a sustainable framework for our community's future. You can read some of the recommendations put forth and other upcoming events on this website.
Read more in the 'About Us' section.
Volunteer at Riverfront Rendezvous
We are in need of some help to pick up the recycle bins at Riverfront Rendezvous this year. We are looking for people to help between 8pm-11pm Friday, Saturday, and Sunday July 3rd-5th. If you are interested and available, please contact Susan Ermer-Schuller at sermer@uwsp.edu. Thank you!
Stevens Point Eco-Muni Anniversary Celebration - June 15th
The June 15th Stevens Point City Council meeting will mark the first anniversary of the adoption of the Eco-Municipality resolution for Stevens Point, and the anniversary is on the City Council agenda. Please consider attending the June 15th City Council meeting to demonstrate the strong support in the community for Sustainable Point. It’s important for elected officials to understand the level of support as they make decisions about the future of our community. City Council meetings are held on the Strongs Ave. side of the County-City building at 1516 Church Street on the 2nd floor. They start at 7:00 pm. If you wish to speak, you need to be there before 7:00 pm to register. Join fellow supporters afterwards at Kristin’s Riverwalk for cake!
Tour Whitefeather Organics CSA - July 21 7PM
2239 Sky View Road in Custer
July 21, 7 pm
Join us to find out what a CSA is all about and how Tony, Laura, and their crew grow organic vegetables in Central Wisconsin. The tour will last about an hour with refreshments to follow. The tour is free, and all are invited to join us.
CSA Essay Contest - Deadline Approaching Soon!!
This letter is an invitation to friends of the local farmshed to consider giving a cash donation for a program that promotes local agriculture. But first a brief description of the project:
Farmshed is sponsoring an essay contest open to all employees of the Stevens Point School District. The purpose of the contest is to circulate “promotional” information helping people understand why we think it’s so important to buy locally grown food. Since the prize is a free seasonal membership in a local CSA, the focus of the promotional information is to help people understand how CSAs are organized and the specific benefits of eating locally grown, healthy food. Addresses for websites with more extensive information are also provided in the promotional information. (The farmshed google-page has a revised copy of these promotional materials for the contest.) Contestants are invited to write a 200 word essay describing why they’d like to win a free CSA membership, citing specific health benefits and the benefits to our environment. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, June 3rd. Hopefully the winner can be announced by Friday, June 5th.
A private donor has agreed to match up to $300 of money raised for this contest. If $300 is raised from your donations ($5, $10.... $50 are all helpful!), one full membership ($400) and one half membership ($200) will be awarded for the best two essays. If $200 is raised, one full membership ($400) will be awarded for the best essay.
Donations can be mailed to Jeremy Solin, treasurer of Farmshed, at 1417 Rogers St, Stevens Point, WI 54481 or Mary Maller at 7630 Rolling Hills Road, Custer, WI 54423. Make checks out to "Farmshed" and put "CSA contest" in the subject line.
Contact Mary at 592-4051 if you would like to help judge the essays. Results will be announced through the google-site for Farmshed.
Rain Barrel Workshop
Time: 7pm-8:30pm
Place: Portage County Library – Stevens Point 1001 Main Street
Join us for a workshop on rain barrels. We will talk about different ways people have set up their rain collections around town. There will also be a demonstration done on how to build your own rain barrel. Participants will receive a $10 coupon on their next purchase of a rain barrel from the Portage County RC&D.
For information, contact Jo Seiser at joseiser@coredcs.com or call 715-341-7741.
Stevens Point Eco-municipality Meeting--Sat., May 23, 2009
The event will examine the city’s progress and plans since June 2008 when the Common Council passed a resolution to become an eco-municipality. Amy Heart, chair of the mayor’s recently convened Sustainability Advisory Commission, is the featured speaker.
Book Group Starting March 2009
Starting in March 2009 – Stevens Point
Book Discussion – Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens. James Cook and Holly Petrillo, professors in forest ecology and entomology, respectively, are starting a group for the public to discuss it. They’re planning to hold 5 one-hour sessions from 7-8 pm on Wednesday nights at Emy J’s. People can join the group by contacting James Cook at jcook@uwsp.edu or 346-2269. If a large number of people are interested, some may be put on a waiting list for a future discussion group on this topic.
The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices by Sarah James & Torbjorn Lahti. Are you interested in joining a study circle to read and put into action a set of sustainability principles? The authors provide inspiring examples of communities that have made dramatic changes toward sustainability and explains how others can emulate their success. Key to success is a democratic, "bottom-up" change process and clear guiding sustainability principles, such as the Natural Step framework. Two study circles are forming that will each meet once a week. The times and locations are:
· Wednesdays at 10:00 until 11:30am, with a planned start of January 28th. Meetings will be at the public library or Emy J's. If you would like to join, email Liz McDonald at lizjohnmcdonald@yahoo.com by Friday, January 9th.
· Wednesdays at 1:00 until 2:30pm, with a planned start of January 28th. Meetings will be at the public library or Emy J's. If you would like to join, email Liz McDonald at lizjohnmcdonald@yahoo.com by Friday, January 9th.
· Weekday evenings with a planned start in January. If you would like to join, contact Cathy Dugan at cdugan@uwsp.edu
A minimum of 6 people will be needed to hold the study circles. The book is available at local book stores, the public library, Amazon, and other sources.
Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms and Fertility Mattered by Woody Tasch. Woody explores the ways that the burgeoning Slow food movement could be applied in the investment world. The study circle will be meeting at Emy J's in Stevens Point on a weekly basis beginning January 12th. If you would like to join, contact Jeremy Solin at Jeremy@farmshed.org.
City Council Passes Resolution
June 16th - City Council voted unanimously on the eco-municipality resolution Thanks to the enormous turn-out at city hall demonstrating their support for the resolution. Click on the PDF below to view this resolution.
| ecomunicipalityresolution.pdf |
Pathway to a Sustainable Point
The Stevens Point City Council has been given recommendations to provide a guide to move forward as an official eco-muncipality. To view the full document (over 50 pages), click the PDF below.
| pathtosustainablepoint.pdf |
Thank you for your input!
Thank you to everyone who participated in the recent Eco-Municipality Listening Sessions. Your valuable input is an integral part in the process of becoming an Eco-Municipality.
Listening session comments available for download in PDF format below.
Download Adobe PDF reader for free here. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
| listening_session_commentspdf.pdf |
Get Informed and Get Involved!
Stay informed about sustainability efforts in central Wisconsin! The Center for Land Use Education will publish the monthly Central Wisconsin Eco-Municipality Newsletter via email. Visit the CLUE websiteand sign-up to receive the newsletter today!
The Portage County League of Women Voters, Center for Land Use Education are hosting study circles to learn more about the Natural Step process and eco-municipalities. For details on the next sessions, contact UW-Extension educator Lynn Markham
How can you get involved?
If you are interested in one of the issue areas listed above, you are welcome and encouraged to attend their meetings to provide input. Check out the calendar page to see when the next meeting is for each subcommittee. Or contact the Mayor's office at 715-346-1570 for the next meeting dates.
Photo Credit: Dennis Yockers